To promote local and international musicians and sustainability awareness, Virginia Key Grassroots will host the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance from Feb. 18 to Feb. 21 on Virginia Key Beach.
Grassroots is a four-day not-for-profit music and cultural festival featuring performances by over 50 bands, including The Family Stone, The Wood Brothers and Charles Bradley. All of the proceeds of the event will go to local and international causes, like AIDS organizations and Doctors Without Borders.
Natalee Carroll, university outreach coordinator for Virginia Key Grassroots, said the festival lineup will be diverse, representing a variety of music genres.
“Funk, jazz, bluegrass, electronic, afro-Cuban, rock, blues, folk ― there will be a very wide variety,” said Carroll. “The idea is to be as diverse and multicultural as possible.”
While local artists will perform at the festival, musicians from around the world will attend the festival, as well. Carroll said she hopes the blend of local and international talent will benefit the local community as much as it benefits the musicians.
“We want to nurture the local talent and also introduce locals to international and bigger movements, different ways of life, different people and different music,” said Carroll. “I think that’s very beneficial for everybody to understand each other.”
In addition to music, the Grassroots Festival will include cultural workshops, like salsa dancing, African drum and dance, Colombian folklore percussion, morning meditation and other dance, music and healing arts courses.
The Grassroots Festival will also offer a variety of different activities for guests, including various arts and craft projects, instrument contests, a silent disco and a zen tea ceremony. For younger guests, Grassroots will also set up a children’s village, which is a tent with a full line-up of kid-friendly crafts, educational activities, obstacle courses and more.
Carroll said the cultural workshops and activities intend to unify and enrich the community.
“I think different cultural diversity and exposure is highly beneficial, especially for youths and in order to sort of bring people together,” said Carroll. “Music, art, dance and education are all wonderful ways that we can come together as a global community, not just individual, small communities. And also, it’s going to be very freaking fun.”
The festival will take place on the beach, and, for an additional $60, festival goers can camp on the beach for all four nights.
“The whole idea of actually having a festival on the beach is a cool idea, you know. We thought it would be nice,” said Carroll. “The beach is a pretty good place to camp and listen to music and take yoga and meditate and whatnot. The venue is perfect.”
Guests can bring their own tents, coolers and gear, but if they don’t have camping equipment, they can purchase gear from Project Shelter, a non-profit organization that is collaborating with the event. Project Shelter will sell tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, lanterns, water bottles, chairs and pillows. When the festival is over, guests can either choose to keep the equipment or donate it to Project Shelter, which will deliver the camping gear to a housing project in South Florida.
According to Carroll, Virginia Beach Grassroots prioritizes sustainability, and the festival’s programming and policies reflect that.
“[Sustainability] has always been part of the philosophy of the founders of Grassroots, the band Donna the Buffalo,” said Carroll. “The region they’re from in upstate New York is a very progressive area, and they’re constantly looking for new ways to better the environment and to protect it. It’s just part of their fundamental belief system, and it was sort of a no-brainer to incorporate that into the festival.”
Through its zero waste mission, Grassroots promotes guests to bring their own reusable bottles and mugs and will also place recycling stations throughout the festival grounds. In addition, all vendors are required to use compostable materials. There will also be a sustainability expo at the festival to educate the festival’s attendees about environmental issues and solutions.
Also, if guests bike to the festival on Sunday, they can purchase their tickets half-priced.
Virginia Key Grassroots is also looking for volunteers for the festival. Carroll said volunteers can assist the festival in many different capacities, including working in the café, the ticket booth, decorating, stage set-up and the children’s village.
If attendees would like to volunteer, they can sign up online up to the day of the event. Those who volunteer for four hours will get a free one-day pass, and those who volunteer for 12 hours will get a free four-day pass.
For more information about the Virginia Key Festival of Music and Dance, including the line-up of performances and activities, or to sign up to volunteer, visit the festival’s website at virginiakeygrassroots.com.
